Becoming a Justice of the Peace

We all have gathered here to bind these two in the thread of holy matrimony, is not a very unfamiliar phrase and all of us are pretty much acquainted with it. That is what is mostly said by a justice of the peace in the USA, while officiating at a wedding. It is one of the most honored positions, even though not very powerful. Nevertheless, there is more to the position of justice of the peace than just officiating at weddings. In the USA, the justice of the peace presides over a court of limited jurisdiction and settles petty issues like misdemeanor, traffic violations and the likes in some states.

So here is more on how to become a justice of the peace and what are the variations in the position in USA and other countries.

How to Become a Justice of the Peace?

Becoming a justice of peace is not a mean feat. Application for the position of the justice of the peace is an uphill route. However, if you are determined enough, well you can surely be one. Here is how you can be one.

• First of all, you cannot just apply for the position randomly. Hence, you would need to get in touch with the secretary of state office and ask about the requirements and the whole procedure.
• The basic requirements are state citizenship, voter registration and you have to write an oath stating no conviction against a crime. For that, you would have to go through the routine police records check and also pay a fee for the overall commission.
• What you need to do is to submit all the necessary documents, fees and evidences to the secretary of state office.
• Keep your fingers crossed and brace your patience, because it's a long and winding way, and wait ahead. You would need to wait for at least 10 weeks for your application to be processed, after all the background checks!
• If your application is approved, check out and wait if the governor and executive counsel appoints you. If you are appointed, you would be commissioned for five years.

As mentioned earlier, there is more to the position of justice of peace than just officiating at weddings. Therefore following is a brief overview of the duties and the connotation of the justice of the peace.

Duties of the Justice of Peace

In the USA
In some states of the USA, a justice of the peace acts as a judge in court with limited jurisdiction. In other cases, he/ she also serves as a magistrate or a quasi judicial officer with a few common or statutory law magisterial powers. Normally, he/ she presides over court cases related to petty crimes like traffic violations, registering orders, misdemeanor cases and so on. In some states he/ she is appointed and in some it is an elected position. The offices of the justice of peace according to national directory are located in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Texas, Louisiana and Vermont. The office is an elected one in Texas, Louisiana, Oregon and Vermont. Apart from this, the office of the justice of the peace in USA is most associated with being the wedding officiate. Becoming a justice, gives an individual an opportunity to be a witness and participant in a wedding ceremony. This is considered as the most widespread duty of this office.

Other Countries
In the United Kingdom, specifically in England and Wales, summary justice is done by a magistrate's court comprising a bench of three justices of the Peace or magistrates. Summary justice refers to crimes which do not account for an imprisonment of more than 6 months. Moving on to Asia, and the orient, in India, this office is a very ornamental one. Even though it exists, it is not a permanent one. In Australia, it apparently is less rigid as compared to other countries. In Australia, justice of the peace is a person who is basically a god human being, having respect in the society. Such person is authorized to sign statutory declarations and affidavits and to authenticate and attest copies of original documents. In some countries you also need to have qualifications certifying you as a lawyer or an attorney for becoming a justice of the peace.

The travesty is, even though this is such an advantageous and a practically useful office, in a few countries, this office is totally draconian and real judicial powers are seldom vested in the office. That was all. Ciao!